Listening to Lalibela
Redzi Bernard takes her microphone into the underground Ethiopian Orthodox Church complex of Lalibela. It's Sunday, when pilgrims gather in a timeless setting.
In 1968 Redzi Bernard's mother arrived in Lalibela - Ethiopia's holy city - on a mule after an arduous trek through the mountains. Earlier this year Redzi recreated her mother's journey and when she arrived in Lalibela she discovered a timeless world.
Just before dawn on a Sunday, she enters an church complex - all below ground level - where hundreds of pilgrims gather in white robes, incense burns, and drums and incantations fill the air.
Ethiopian Orthodox priests lead ceremonies and devotees pray with eyes closed and palms stretched upwards. As day breaks, birdsong and light filter into the scene and slowly pilgrims start to drift away.
To hear Redzi's Ethiopian journey in full go to Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Sounds and search for 'Journey of a Lifetime'
Sounds of the Earth
Listen to the natural world in its many guises.
Podcast
-
![]()
Slow Radio
An antidote to today’s frenzied world. Step back, let go, it’s time to go slow.
